I AM A SONIC BOOMER, NOT A SENIOR... In this blog, I am writing to and for those who believe that the Boomers will change what the word Senior means. I also believe that Boomers will change what retirement means in our society. The blog is also for those who are interested in what life after retirement may look like for them. In this blog I highlight and write about issues that I believe to be important both for Seniors and working Boomers.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Narratives work, political parties in Canada pay attention to your story

As we move into an election year in Canada, our political parties would be well advised to read and heed the following white paper, “On the Road to a New Effectiveness Model,” (you can purchase it from the ARFhere) put out in 2007 by the The Advertising Research Foundation

The upshot of the ARF et al. study was that advertisements which tell a convincing or engaging story more effectively make a positive impression on viewers than those that focus on positioning a product in terms of its benefits. Max Kalehoff insists that the real lesson here is not about advertising effectiveness but about brand effectiveness. Specifically, he says, brands need compelling foundation narratives that connect with people by distilling and embodying that brand’s essence. So the party that pays attention to the idea that their brand is best for Canada, will have a good shot at winning the next election.

The main
findings were:

Ads that tell a branding story (e.g. a Mastercard ad
showing a father taking his son to a baseball game) work better than ads
that focus on product positioning.

Not all narrative ads work.

Ads
where the narrative is unimaginative and boring don’t work (e.g. A United Airlines
spot that showed an emotional story of a businessman returning home)

Ads where the narrative ties in with the brand work
better than ads that don’t.

Narrative ads where the audience got involved in the
story (e.g. Budweiser's "Whassup" campaign) worked better than
ads where the audience remained passive, (e.g. Miller Lite low-carb ads
that essentially just said, "We're better than the other guys.)

Narrative humor could be effective. Eighty-four
percent of respondents said the humor worked well in Southwest Airlines'
"Want to get away" ads such as a woman accidentally destroying a
man's medicine cabinet while snooping.

Ads where the narrative is distracting don’t work.
For instance, a Nissan didn’t work: at the outset, it seems as though a
couple is talking about sex, but in fact they are talking about the car.
The audience however never made the transition, having reacted negatively
to the conversation about sex.

Ultimately story-telling ads generate effectiveness
by engagement, rather than by repetition or tonnage

I wonder how many will pay attention, very few I imagine. Bad habits die hard, even in the face of strong analytic evidence to the contrary. Studies by themselves don’t lead to action. Action will only happen when the findings of the study are communicated in a storySteven Harper is very good at telling a story that ties into his message. The story right now is Canada is at war and we need a Warrior to save us from the enemy. We need to give the Warrior the tools he needs to defeat the enemy and we need to trust him to do this without taking away our freedom. The problem is that we are not at war, our warriors have the tools they need to defeat the enemy now, but they do not have the money to pay for those tools, due to budget cuts by Mr. Harper and his party. The problem is that the Canadian people have bought into the idea that we are at war, with this new enemy. The opposition needs to create its own story and move away from the story of war and move us into the story of the economy and how they can give us hope. People don't vote for a party to replace the ruling party easily. They need a reason and the party that creates a story that gives us hope for a better future will win the hearts and the minds of the public.

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This is a valentine thought for my retired and soon to be retired friends. When you watch television or the movies, you could come to th...

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About Me

I was raised on Vancouver Island and in 1965, left to become a charter student of Simon Fraser University I graduated with a degree in Economics and Commerce in 1969; got on with life and then 25 years later graduated with my Masters in Educational Technology from City University in Seattle.

I started teaching in Surrey in 1973, but in 2000, I also started teaching at the University of Phoenix, Vancouver Campus. I became Area Chair for Curriculum and Instruction in 2005 but within four years, Phoenix closed its Vancouver Campus. I fully retired in 2012.

I served on the Board of SHARE Family & Community Services. The Society is a non- profit, independent, community based organization providing leadership and programs in response to the social needs of the residents of the Tri-Cities. I currently write a blog about issues important to Boomers as well as a blog about Personalized Gift Giving